The Washington Bullets finally gave up on Kevin Duckworth, trading the 7-foot center to the Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday night for forward Bob McCann.
Duckworth, 31, never played up to expectations since joining the Bullets prior to the 1993-94 season. He was supposed to fill a huge void in the middle, but his two-year stay in Washington featured several injuries and a relentless battle against a bulging waistline.Duckworth was put on the suspended list twice last season for failure to keep in good physical condition and ended up playing only 40 games, including just 22 starts. He missed 12 games with a sore Achilles tendon and the final 19 with calcium deposits in his left ankle.
The 285-pounder averaged 4.9 rebounds and 7.1 points last season, compared to 4.7 rebounds and 6.6 points in 69 games in his first season with Washington.
Duckworth was signed through the 1995-96 season, and the Bullets didn't really want him - or his hefty salary. With a frontcourt of Chris Webber, Juwan Howard, Rasheed Wallace and Gheorghe Muresan, there was no room for Duckworth on the roster.
The 6-7 McCann was originally drafted by the Milwaukee Bucks in the second round (32nd overall) of the 1987 NBA draft. McCann ranked sixth in the nation in rebounding and was the Ohio Valley Conference player of the year his senior season at Morehead State.
Last season, McCann averaged 15.5 points and 9.6 rebounds in 57 games for the Rapid City Thrillers of the CBA. He recorded the CBA's highest single game rebound total last season with 24 boards against Sioux Falls on March 8.
The Toronto Raptors acquired guard Harold Miner from the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday for center Victor Alexander.
The Raptors will also get a second-round 1996 draft pick along with cash.
"I see Harold Miner as a guy who can play some backup at small forward and provide some scoring," Raptors vice president Isiah Thomas said. "He can score and he's a talent."
The 6-foot-5 Miner averaged 7.3 points, 2.6 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 45 games with the Miami Heat last year. He was dealt to Cleveland in June for future considerations and a draft pick.
The Raptors already have Alvin Robertson and Vincenzo Esposito at shooting guard and Willie Anderson and Carlos Rogers at small forward.
The 6-10 Alexander was obtained by Toronto in the deal that sent expansion draft pick B.J. Armstrong to the Golden State Warriors. Alexander, who averaged 10/0 points and 5.8 rebounds in 50 games for the Warriors last season, had a lackluster training camp and was beaten out of a job by Zan Tabak and Oliver Miller.
At Oakland, Calif., Jerome Kersey, who has spent all 11 of his NBA seasons with Portland, signed a one-year contract Wednesday with the Golden State Warriors.
The 6-foot-7 forward is to be in uniform Sunday when the Warriors are home against New Jersey.
Kersey, 33, started on the Trail Blazer teams that made it to the NBA Finals in 1990 and 1992. At Golden State, he will be reunited with his coach from those days, Rick Adelman.
The Oregonian newspaper in Portland said Kersey was signing with Golden State for the NBA minimum of $225,000.